Italy: Civil Service, give them a space with open boundaries

Empower. This is the title, and at the same time the objective, of the European Forum of civil society organised by the European Commission in Bergamo on the 9th and 10th of November that discusses the EU White Paper on communications policy presented in February 2006. A total of 400 representatives of the European not-for-profit sector were invited to attend, including representatives from Bulgaria and Romania. Pier Virgilio Dastoli, the director of the Italian EU representatives, points out that ” the names you will find here are not those of the large scale umbrella organisations who are regularly consulted by the institutions.” He goes on to say that “The aim of the Forum is to provide a voice for those organisations that operate at a local and national level, to gather concrete proposals that will shape the creation of a public space to be used by European institutions in the next summit in Berlin.”

Vita: What kind of contributions have you received from civil society?
Pier Virgilio Dastoli: Mostly we have received proposals that have been in the air for a while; for example to make the Erasmus program obligatory, and to create a synergy between national civil service and European voluntary service. These are interesting proposals, although the latter has not been approved by a number of member states. The Forum is divided into themed sessions ? civic education, connecting citizens with institutions, with each other and with the Internet. Each of these now require real operational directions.

Vita: Is the Bergamo Forum also an occasion to make a point about the allocation of funding to social needs?
Dastoli: Rather than underlining the need for more funds, it is more a place where we can understand how civil society can influence and direct the financial politics decided by the Commission.

Vita: Bulgaria and Romania, the two newest European members, were also invited to the Forum. What role can their civil society play?
Dastoli: Being a part of Europe for these countries means respecting democratic conditions thus increasing the stability of the continent. Controlling illegality, illegal immigration and the trafficking in human beings is made a lot easier by this European expansion to the East.

Vita: Unfortunately there is much talk about how this recent expansion is more symbolic than real: while immediate benefits will be reaped from trading in goods with Bulgaria and Romania, it will take a long time before their students and workers will see any changes.
Dastoli: The European Commission would prefer there to be no quotas and no transitional time lapse between political and effective entry to the E.U. We take this stance for ethical as well as economic reasons ? our economy is in need of immigration. It is rather sad that the United Kingdom, one of the few nations to have not supported restrictions on the entry of Eastern European countries, has now established quotas for Bulgaria and Romania; as if there were a difference between the rights of Romanian and Polish citizens.

Vita: How has Italy readied itself for this appointment?
Dastoli: Thanks to the collaboration between the Commission and the Parliament a national coordination and consulting opportunity for civil society has been devised. This experience will now be repeated at the regional level and many steps have already been taken. Unfortunately not all member States have reacted with the same efficiency.

For more information: www.empower06.eu